January 24
41
Roman emperor, Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula (meaning Little Boot—he used to wear military boots as a child), was murdered.
1848
Gold was first discovered in California, in Sutter’s mill. When President Polk announced the news in December, the gold rush began.
1908
Robert Baden-Powell organized the first Boy Scout troop in England.
1943
The Casablanca Conference with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill concluded.
1965
Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.
1972
Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered in Guam, having spent 28 years hiding in the jungle thinking World War II was still going on.
1986
Voyager Two space probe passes within 51,000 miles of Uranus.
1993
The first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall, died.
2003
The Department of Homeland Security, under Tom Ridge, became a cabinet department.
Birthdays
Edith Wharton
1862–1937, American Novelist.
William Congreve
dramatist (1670)
Frederick the Great
Prussian King (1712)
Robert Motherwell
artist (1915)
Ernest Borgnine
actor (1917)
Maria Tallchief
ballerina (1925)
Aaron Neville
singer (1941)
Warren Zevon
singer, songwriter (1947)
John Belushi
actor, comedian (1949)
Mary Lou Retton
gymnast (1968)
Matthew Lillard
actor (1970)
Mischa Barton
actor, model (1986)